Cultural Days

This week we had Cultural Days at school, where the kids got to learn and practice activities from their Native Alaskan culture.

We made "Eskimo Ice cream."  In Yu'pik they call it "akutaq."  

Ingredients: Cooked pike fish, sugar, berries, and crisco.

They usually use berries that are picked from the tundra,
but ingredients were hard to find this time of year.

Groups of girls rotated to my room for beading.

I had fun teaching them how to make necklaces, bracelets, and earrings with seed beads.  We had fun without the guys and got to bead while listening to girly music.

Some finished products:

  

Nathaniel was with another male teacher braving the middle school boys.  One morning they made soap carvings.  Most boys made boats or canoes.  Nathaniel made this pretty sweet owl.

The girls rotated to this room to make mitten keychains with leather and fur.

Students sewed "lap balls" with leather, thread, and stuffing.  Lap ball is similar to baseball.

Elementary students practicing their Eskimo Dance for the Cultural Days program.

The guys made spears and spear throwers with wood and saws.

(Left) Sawing off the end of a spear and (Right) planing off the edges of a spear.

(Left) The boys also made miniature drums to pass out as gifts to the elders during the program.
(Right) They made manuqing (ice fishing) poles from hard-wood dowel rods.

Kindergarten and 1st grade performing their Eskimo Dance.
Some kids had their faces painted like seals.

The kindergarten teacher dancing with her class.

The Cultural Days program was crowded with proud parents.

All the students Eskimo Dancing the last song together.